GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: “Republicans pushing a last-ditch effort to topple the Affordable Care Act neared a critical deadline armed with changes to the bill’s text and a new Trump administration analysis aimed at winning over wavering senators…
The updated version of the bill sponsored by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (R., La.), circulating among lobbyists and on Capitol Hill as senators returned to Washington Monday, would provide more benefits to states including Alaska, home to Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who has been skeptical of efforts to repeal the ACA.
And in a move that could appeal to conservative senators, the authors made several changes designed to give states more leeway in rolling back ACA requirements and mandates. Health analysts said the new version frees states from an earlier requirement that they seek a waiver from HHS to mandate insurers cover specific health benefits, such as maternity and mental care. States could also charge higher premiums to people with pre-existing conditions and older consumers without needing an approved waiver, analysts said.
And under the earlier proposal, states had to maintain an ACA protection that limited consumers’ out-of-pocket payments; the new text would let states end the those limits. That could pave the way for less-comprehensive health plans with low premiums and high deductibles, health analysts said.”
-Stephanie Armour, “Revised GOP Health Bill Targets Wavering Senators,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 25, 2017 10:50am